


Magic Keepers

by orphan_account



Series: Magic Keepers [1]
Category: Johnny's Entertainment, Sexy Zone
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 19:25:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fuma's life had been fine, until Sou suddenly went ahead and told him that he had time traveled from the future, and that Kento would die in three days.<br/>(Alic3 took the time to create a fanart banner for this <3)<br/><a href="http://s631.photobucket.com/user/vflmaeuschen/media/JPop/BcRa4pUCcAAcmPyjpglarge_zps175c524e.jpg.html"></a><img/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic Keepers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yumi - my dear fangirl imouto](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Yumi+-+my+dear+fangirl+imouto), [Tingke - for helping me so much with Weibo](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tingke+-+for+helping+me+so+much+with+Weibo), [This is your Christmas Fic](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=This+is+your+Christmas+Fic), [Also to Cortney](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Also+to+Cortney), [because she helped me plan the story](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=because+she+helped+me+plan+the+story).



> Hey everyone!  
> So, this became incredibly huge, but now that it's done, I am strangely proud of it? I hope you will like it, it was a lot of fun to write!  
> This is something completely different, including paranormal phenomenons. I hope it makes sense and I did not forget any important parts of the story. If so, please point them out ^^'  
> Okay, not gonna say much more. Enjoy.

Fuma's POV 

I had never had a special attachment to magic. I mean, sure, through our society and the movies and literature, you could never quite escape the concept of it, and I never particularly tried either. We all grew up with Harry Potter, and I loved the Lord of the Rings movies. It was there, kind of, but it had never held a special fascination over me either, like on Sou, for example, who still claimed his letter to Hogwarts had just been lost by a useless owl or something. I had always been more of a rational type, really.

But suddenly, I felt like I was in the middle of my own fantasy novel, and I was not sure how to feel about that.

The day had started innocently enough. I had had classes in the morning, and Shounen Club rehearsal with the band in the afternoon, and everything had gone by as unspectacular as always. 

It had started from the moment Sou had stumbled out of the shower, looking frantic and staring at Nakajima like he was seeing a ghost. I had just been in a discussion with Nakajima myself, but Sou's sudden appearance had made him hold in the middle of his sentence, staring back at him questioningly.

There was a moment of silence in which both just continued staring, gaining everyone's attention, Mari and Shori also turning to look at them, though Shori seemed to become unnaturally pale at watching the scene. Before I could make any sense out of it, though, Nakajima had already spoken up. 

"Do I have something on my face?!" He asked in confusion, looking at me for help.

"Sou, what's wrong?" I asked carefully, frowning as I observed his incredulous face. 

There was another moment of silence in which everyone waited for Sou to say something, but then, Sou just shook his head and smiled, though it came out more as a grimace.

"Nothing" he said cheerfully, turning to his bag.

I looked at Nakajima, popping an eyebrow in confusion, and Nakajima shrugged, seeming worried, before he threw a look at the clock. 

"Shit" he murmured. "I have to run or I'll be late for my evening classes."

He quickly grabbed his bag and waved hastily into the round before storming out of the door. I did not miss how, as soon as the door fell closed behind him, Sou's face fell as well, bringing the almost horrified look back to it. Shori seemed just as scared as him, and it was all very unnerving to watch, so I called: "Seriously, what's going on here?!"

Sou turned to me slowly, and the expression on his face felt like a bucket of ice water right into my own: there was fear and confusion, but also pain and worry, especially as his eyes focused on me, and it made me feel like something was terribly wrong, though I could not figure out what, because Sou had just been in the shower for 15 minutes. What could have possibly happened?

"What day is it?" Sou asked suddenly, pulling me out of my anxiety with the simple question.

"Um... Monday?" I answered carefully.

"No, which date?" He continued impatiently. "Which date is it, Fuma-kun?"

"December 2nd" I shrugged, watching with growing discomfort as Sou's eyes went wide in reaction to my words. "Sou, what is it?! Talk already!"

"This will sound crazy" Sou murmured, and his voice was shaking as he looked from Mari to Shori and back to me. "But I need you to believe me, please, because if you don't, I don't know what-"

"Okay, I'll believe you" I interrupted him, trying to sound calm and comforting. "Whatever it is, I will believe you."

Sou looked like he was going to cry at my words, seeming much younger than 16 all of a sudden, but he focused his eyes only on me when he finally continued.

I needed a moment to realize that he was speaking, and even then I could not quite process his words.

"I am coming from the future" he almost whispered. "And Kento-kun will die in 3 days."

Silence ruled the room as everyone stared at Sou. My heart was beating so loud in my ears that I could hardly concentrate. 

"Explain" was all I could bring out, at last, my head spinning.

"I wish I could" Sou groaned desperately, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "The last thing I remember is us on Kento-kun's funeral, and you having a mental break down and not being able to stop crying, and I just wished that I could somehow... turn back time and stop it from happening. And then, suddenly, I was here."

"What do you mean, Kento-kun's funeral?" Marius whispered. "Why is he dead?"

"I don't know!" Sou called. "No one does! Fuma-kun just found him, and... he was dead. No wounds, no bruises, nothing. His heart just wasn't beating anymore."

I shook my head frantically, because _no_. This could not be happening. Nakajima was healthy and not even 20 and he would not just drop dead on the floor from one moment to another. This made no sense.

Sou reached out for my arm when I shook my head, clinging on as he pleaded: "Believe me, Fuma-kun! You promised!"

I was just opening my mouth to reply when Shori whispered, barely audible: "He isn't lying. He is saying the truth."

All of our heads spun around to look at Shori this time, and he lowered his head, not meeting anyone's gaze as he continued: "I... hear things, kind of. Things people are thinking. So... I can tell that he is saying the truth. He would not be able to hide it from me."

I blinked, and the world was spinning as I tried to understand what was happening. 

"So, what you want to say is... you can read minds?" Sou asked quietly, seeming not nearly alarmed enough about that fact for my taste.

"Yes" Shori nodded. "I can hear that Fuma-kun thinks he is going crazy and that you are relieved that you are not the only one with strange abilities and that Mari thinks it even makes sense. And that Fuma-kun doesn't really want to hear anything that we're saying now because then he would have to believe that Kento-kun will really die and he can't handle the thought of losing him." 

"Stop" I whispered, whimpering because he had hit home and I felt so close to just bursting into tears. 

"Why did you never tell us?" Marius asked Shori, seeming awed. "That you can read minds. I mean..."

"Because I hate it" Shori said angrily. "Most of the time I just try to suppress it because... Can you imagine what it's like to hear everyone's thoughts every minute of every freaking day?! To hear what they think about you, not the nice version they say out loud, and you just... If I hadn't learned to ignore it most of the time, I'd have gone insane!" His eyes narrowed as they focused on Mari. "And I don't see you telling us about your abilities either!"

Mari bit his lower lip in embarrassment, and everyone turned to him instead. 

"Don't tell me you can do magic too" I groaned. "I swear I will walk out if you do!"

"It's not really magic" Mari said softly. "It's more like... I see things. In my dreams."

"You mean you have visions?" Sou asked, seeming excited. 

"He saw Kento die" Shori pointed out with a frown.

"I thought it was a dream!" Marius said defensively. "Not all of my dreams always happen the way I see them okay? So I thought maybe..."

"It makes sense, though" Sou nodded. "The future isn't set in stone. Look at me."

"That means we can still save Kento-kun?" Mari asked hopefully, and I held up my hand weakly, wanting to speak up, but Shori shushed me before I could even open my mouth. 

"Fuma-kun, just believe that this is really happening already!" Shori groaned. "None of us are creative enough to make up stories like that!"

"Get out of my head!" I called in frustration.

"I wish I could!" Shori returned angrily. "Your mind is anything but a comfortable place to be, with all your half hatched feelings for Kento-kun and-" 

"There are some things you should better leave unsaid, Shori-kun, even if you know better" a fifth voice spoke up, and all of us looked towards the door in confusion.

It was Tegoshi Yuya who was leaning against the door frame, watching all of us with mild interest on his face, looking like it was the most normal thing for him to be here, participating in our conversation about mind-reading and other magical powers my band members suddenly seemed to have grown. 

Shori was the first one who spoke, murmuring, this time almost in awe: “Wait, does this mean…?”

“Why did you think I was the only one whose thoughts you could not hear?” Tegoshi scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Really, I had it figured out years ago. You are a little slow, Shori-Kun.”

“Okay, once more for those who cannot read minds, please!” I said loudly, looking from Shori to Tegoshi. “What the heck is going on?!”

“I can read minds, too” Tegoshi shrugged, seeming almost bored with the revelation. “I’ve been waiting for _ages_ for you guys to figure out your abilities. Or at least Shori-Kun, Marius and Kento-Kun, because I was not quite sure what you and Sou-Kun could do, but Sou-Kun, _nice_. I have never met a time traveler before, this is kind of cool!”

“You mean there are more like us?!” Shori blurted out, and Marius asked excitedly: “What can Kento-Kun do?!”, and I was so close to screaming at all of them because I still couldn’t quite believe what was happening here and the thought about Nakajima dying was still numbing my mind, but Tegoshi looked me directly in the eyes, keeping me from saying anything.

“Calm down” he said simply, making me ball my fist. “It is all of your job to safe Kento-Kun. So please stop freaking for now and listen to what I have to say.”

I bit my lip, hard, but kept silent, just staring at him, waiting for him to continue. 

“So” Tegoshi nodded, looking into the round, and everyone seemed to be hanging on his lips. “The explanation is quite simple, actually. Kento-Kun is a magic keeper.”

“A what?” Sou blurted out, frowning. 

“He is a powerful magic being” Tegoshi continued. “He collects magic around himself, and if he tried, he could also learn to use it. Which he hasn’t yet, because he is unaware of his powers. But you can tell that he carries magic just by looking at him. If you pay attention, you will understand quickly.”

“So, if that’s what Kento-Kun is” Mari said slowly. “…then what are we?”

“Magic Keepers are special beings. There are not many of them born in every generation, and their existence is always threatened by dark forces who are trying to either incorporate them, or destroy them. So whenever a Magic Keeper is born, there are people born who will gather around him in the flow of his life, who have their own special abilities, though not as strong as those of the Keeper himself. Those are called his Protectors. They are supposed to use their abilities to help him ward off the dark forces that approach him. If they fail, their Keeper will turn into a part of the Dark Force himself, and attack other’s of his kind.”

“So, if you can read minds, like me… Does that mean you are a Protector, too?” Shori asked slowly, and Tegoshi smiled, seeming glad that he was catching on.

“Kei-Chan is our Magic Keeper” he nodded. “We found out two years ago. We warded off his attacker more through luck than anything else back then, though, but ever since we know what is going on, we keep our eyes and ears open for everything that happens around us. This is how I came to pay attention to you.”

“So, if you are a Mind Reader like Shori, and Koyama is the Keeper like Kento-Kun… What is the rest of your band?” Sou asked curiously.

“Massu is a Shape Shifter” Tegoshi grinned. “He makes the cutest dog, I will have to show you some day. And Shige… His ability is actually pretty scary. He can control minds.”

Mari moved closer to Sou at his words, seeming horrified, and even I felt a cold shudder at his words, imagining what mind control probably entailed.

“He doesn’t use it often” Tegoshi said quickly. “He doesn’t _like_ to use it if it’s not absolutely necessary. And even if he does, he doesn’t really control people. He merely… alters their memory to our purposes, you could say. This is how we fought off our attacker, actually. He changed his memory, making him forget about Kei-Chan’s abilities, or his plans to attack him.”

“Who is he?” Marius whispered. “Maybe he’s also the one trying to attack-“

“He isn’t” Tegoshi shook his head. “We are still keeping a close watch at him. I would know.”

“Then who is trying to kill Nakajima?!” I demanded impatiently. “If you’re watching everything so closely, you should know!”

“I don’t” he shrugged. “I am not supposed to know, either. It is up to you to protect him. It would not be of any use if you let me lead you the way. This is not how it’s meant to be. You are his protectors.”

“Stop kidding me!” I said angrily. “We have no idea what to do! Give us a hint here!”

“But you do” Tegoshi chuckled. “You have Sou-Kun from the future, who can tell you when it will happen. You have Marius, who can tell you how it will happen, if he properly concentrates. And you have Shori-Kun, who can keep his ears open about all the people around you. The attacker may be powerful, but he cannot control his mind, neither does he know that his thoughts are not safe. He will give himself away, you just need to pay attention.”

“But even if we know all of that” I called. “How are we supposed to stop it from happening?!”

“That’s up to you to decide” Tegoshi replied, still infuriatingly calm. “Also, you don’t know what your abilities are yet. I pretty sure you are a Protector too, it would not make sense for you to not be. You just need to find out _what_ you can do exactly.”

“I can’t do anything!” I said in frustration, but Sou shook his head, turning to me and scolding: “Don’t say that. I did not know that I could do anything an hour ago either, right? And Kento-Kun doesn’t know how powerful he is either. So you just need to search for it, I think.”

“But-“ I tried to argue, only to be interrupted by Tegoshi.

“Why don’t you start with focusing on Marius' vision” he said simply, smiling at Marius ensuringly as he looked uncomfortable. “I think it is pretty usable. So just let him explain it to you and you can progress from there.”

All of us looked at Marius, and Shori’s look said that he knew already more than Sou and me did and it made me unreasonably angry. 

“I will leave you to it” Tegoshi said finally, waving as he stepped out of the room. “Good luck!”

I was about to shout at his calm face, but he only laughed at me as he closed the door behind him. I had always thought Tegoshi was the most annoying Senpai. 

“Mari, what did you see?” Sou asked softly, looking at Marius next to him. “How is Kento-Kun going to die?”

“I… I really don’t know much” Marius whispered. “It’s all so blurry, I don’t remember well… I just know… that they are in some basement. I saw cars. Maybe a parking lot?”

“Who is ‘they’?!” I prodded, and Marius made a face.

“Well, Kento-Kun and… someone” he sighed. “I can’t remember a face. I just know that there was someone, and that… Kento-Kun seemed to know him? Because he did not run. They talked.”

“Do you know anything?” Shori groaned. “Height, hair style,-?! _Why can’t you remember?!_ ”

“I don’t know!” Mari whined desperately. “I see only flashes and-“

“It’s okay” Sou said quickly, reaching out for Marius’ shoulder and squeezing it. “Just… if anything comes back to you, tell us, okay? Or if you see anything else.”

“So what are we going to do now?!” I demanded, so close to just kicking a chair across the room. “How are we going to find out who is trying to attack Nakajima?!”

“I think all we can do for now is leave it to Shori” Sou said uncomfortably. “Or wait till Mari sees something new.”

“What am I supposed to do?!” Shori demanded. “Just burst in on everyone and listen to what they are thinking?!”

“Yes, this is exactly what you are going to do!” I said loudly. “Nakajima’s life is on the line!”

“It doesn’t work that easily!” Shori argued. “It is hard to listen to _everyone_ , because in a room full of people, I have to make sense of tons of voices at once and-“

“I don’t care!” I interrupted him. “I really don’t care, Shori, just try!”

“It’s easy for you to give orders!” Shori said defensively. “What are you going to do to help? Huh?”

It was the first time that I seriously considered hitting a band member, and Sou seemed to sense that, because he stepped in between us, speaking louder than both of us to get our attention. 

“We should maybe all go home for tonight and sleep over it” he said simply. “Make up plans for ourselves. Mari may see more when he sleeps, and Shori can maybe think up a way to systematically question people or something. I will also try to see if I can do anything with my abilities, maybe I can make myself travel to other points of time or something. And Fuma-Kun… You can just try to find out what your power is, okay?”

My jaw set, and I was unable to answer. I felt strangely crippled. There was someone out there, trying to hurt my best friend, and I could do nothing to stop it, when everyone else seemed to be able to do _something_. 

This was new for me. I had trained my body in martial arts for years, and had always been sure that, if anyone ever tried to hurt the people I loved, I would be able to do something to protect them. And now I was here, and the thing threatening Nakajima went beyond anything I was able to control, and it was maddening to think about it. 

That night, I tried searching the internet for any kind of magic that struck me as familiar, but there was nothing. I even made a list and sat down on my bed, trying hard to make _anything_ happen, a transformation, to make something move, _anything_ , really, but there was nothing.

I felt stupid, like my little sister who was running around with a broom between her legs, complaining loudly why it wouldn’t fly. 

I ended up not sleeping all night, but all the pondering never brought me to a conclusion, no matter how hard I tried. 

In the morning, I received a message from Sou instead, asking me to meet in a café for lunch with him, Mari and Shori, so that we could sit down and talk quietly before we met up with Nakajima for the rehearsals this afternoon. 

I did not know when Sou of all people had developed leadership skills; Nakajima had always been the one to lead us on asa group, and when he hadn’t been around, it had usually been me trying to take his place. I would not call myself the best leader, but I _was_ the second oldest, after all, so that had always counted for something. But now, with the thought of Nakajima possibly dying, I felt kind of numb, unable to do anything, much less tell others what to do. So I was kind of thankful, even a little proud, that Sou seemed to be able to do it.

“Marius told me he had a new dream” Sou said the moment I sat down with them, the other three already sipping on their drinks.

“What did you see?” I asked Marius immediately, noticing that he had a notebook in his hand, with a few words and drawings scribbled onto it.

“I recognized the place where it happened” he explained. “It’s the parking lot of the agency buildings. Kento-Kun seems to be on his way home, because he is walking to his car. And then his attacker is waiting there.”

“He did not see a face” Shori murmured before I could even ask. 

“It was still kind of blurry” Marius sighed. “I really tried to remember, but nothing came up.”

“Probably because you’re not accustomed with using your skill yet” Sou said thoughtfully. “It seems to be the same with me. I really tried yesterday, but all I could do was receive really intense flashbacks from the past. From when I was a toddler, for example, which was really weird. But it never lingered, and when it came to the future… There was nothing, really. I guess I still need practice? And so does probably Mari.”

“I saw something else though” Mari added. “I saw how Fuma-Kun found Kento-Kun.”

I felt sick at the mention of it, not sure if I really wanted to hear about this, but Marius continued anyways, frowning as he said: “It was really weird. It was like, the attacker had just walked away, and then, Fuma-Kun just… appeared. Out of nothing.”

“You mean he teleported?” Shori frowned, staring at me as if I would suddenly disappear into thin air. 

“I can’t teleport” I protested grudgingly. “I tried that yesterday, among other stuff, but nothing happened.”

“Well, that’s what I saw” Mari shrugged, seeming a little discouraged by my words. “I don’t know what it means, though.”

“It’s a good start” Sou said firmly. “Maybe we will find out soon enough.”

“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked again, staring at the menu moodily, not having any appetite. Maybe I would skip on lunch, after all.

“I am going to try to listen in on the Juniors and A.B.C-Z’s thoughts today at rehearsals” Shori shrugged. “They gossip enough usually. If anyone knows anything, I may find out there.”

“I think we should just try staying close to Kento-Kun and observe the people close to him” Sou frowned. “Maybe the attacker will give himself away.”

“I will not leave Nakajima out of sight even if you wanted me to” I mumbled in frustration. “I will follow him to the bathroom if necessary.”

“That sounds like a good plan” Sou smiled. “You take care of Kento-Kun, we try to find out who is behind all of this. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded hesitantly, silently agreeing. 

Nakajima was cheerful when he joined us in the dressing room, and I was struck by how differently I suddenly perceived his aura now that I paid attention to it. 

I suddenly understood how Tegoshi had been able to tell what he was just by looking at him, because there was just something in the air around him. I had always found Nakajima strangely fascinating, even if I had never really admitted it out loud, or had been able to point _what_ it was about him that made him so special.

I had always thought that it was his charm. He was a born idol, after all. He was supposed to be fascinating.

But now that I paid attention to it, the room was _really_ a little brighter as soon as he had entered it. The colors were sharper, and the air was nicer, less stuffed and uncomfortable as soon as he was close. 

I only noticed how I had been staring at him when Shori elbowed me in the ribs, throwing me a sharp look, and I quickly busied myself with my phone, trying to fight the blush from my face that appeared as soon as I caught Shori rolling his eyes at me. I hated to not have my thoughts to myself.

I tried to be subtle as I glued myself to Nakajima’s side, and it first, he did not seem to notice, really, more or less happy with my attention. But as the day dragged on, and I still followed Nakajima around like a shadow, he started to throw me weird looks. 

It went to the point where Shori pulled me aside and warned me that he was becoming suspicious, but I just growled at him to focus on finding the culprit instead of listening in on Nakajima and my thoughts. 

When we were done with rehearsals, I quietly asked Nakajima if he was in the mood for a movie night. 

“I could stay over at your place” I offered, keeping my tone light to not seem like I was up to something. “We’ve not done that for a while.”

“It’s the middle of the week” Nakajima frowned, scanning my face. “We both have University tomorrow.”

“We don’t need to stay up long” I shrugged. “I just… want to spend some time with you?”

Somehow, Nakajima seemed even more alarmed by those words coming from my mouth, but instead of questioning me more about it, he nodded slowly, and I was relieved that he was indulging me. 

I knew that it was unreasonable to keep close like that even through the night. We knew when the attack would happen, and that he was totally safe at home. But knowing it and feeling ensured were two completely different pairs of shoes for me at the moment. Even if I could not really do anything, I just wanted to be at Nakajima’s side. For whatever it was worth. 

Our conversation kept light on our way home, about work and university, but I could tell that Nakajima was watching my every move, and it made me nervous, but on the other hand, I could not help myself from moving a little closer to his side in the train, or following him with my eyes when we arrived in his room and he was rummaging around to pack away things or searching things for me to sleep in. 

It was like my whole mind was ruled by one thought only: That I did not want to lose him. 

It was when we ended up snuggled in Nakajima’s bed, TV running with some boring action movie, that he finally spoke up, like I had known he would, at some point.

“What is wrong, Fuma?” he whispered. “You have been acting weird all day, and you keep looking at me like I have a fatal disease. It really worries me.”

I gulped, not knowing what to answer, and Nakajima turned to his side to look me in the eyes. Our faces were only inches apart, making me realize just how much I had moved over to him even though his bed was so huge, but I could not bring myself to move away, instead just staring at him. 

“Talk to me” Nakajima murmured, in that gentle way of his, and I had to fight the sudden urge to just hug him close and never, ever let go of him again. 

It was not fair. Why him, of all people?

“You will think I’m crazy” was all I finally said, and I had not really realized that I had even spoken up until Nakajima raised an eyebrow at me. 

“Whatever it is” he whispered. “I’ll believe you. I trust you.”

His words made everything inside of me tighten up even more, and I had to break our eye contact to be able to breathe. I could still feel Nakajima’s eyes on my face anyways.

“I don’t want to lose you” I burst out, at last. “I really, really don’t want to lose you, and it scares me.”

“Why would you lose me?” Nakajima asked in confusion, reaching out to touch my hand, squeezing it. “You won’t lose me!”

I took a deep, unsteady breath, and before I knew it, everything was flowing out of me: How Sou had suddenly appeared from the future, telling that Nakajima would die, and how Marius could see it happening it in his dreams, and how Shori could read minds, and how Tegoshi had told us what it all meant. 

Nakajima did not interrupt me, listening quietly while I talked, and when I was finally done, I was almost physically exhausted from it, breathing fast and clinging to his hand. I finally dared to meet his eyes again, but it was hard to read the look in them.

“I told you it was crazy” I murmured desperately. “But it is really happening and it scares me and I don’t know what to do. I just know that I can’t let you die.”

Nakajima squeezed my hand at my words, and I was almost horrified when he broke our eye contact, until I saw the look of concentration on his face.

I followed his gaze, not sure what he was looking at, until suddenly, I saw something moving on the table from the corner of my eyes. 

It was then, that I saw the notebook on Nakajima’s desk raising into the air all by itself, without anyone lifting it. It would have shocked me, but before I could even comprehend what was going on, the notebook had fallen down again, and Nakajima had jerked to sit up straight, looking frantic.

“Was that me?!” he squealed, and I scrambled to sit up too to be able to look in his eyes again. 

“So Tegoshi was really right” I murmured, all last hopes that all of this was some kind of crazy made up story flying out of the window. 

“I-“ Nakajima stuttered, looking up at me unsurely. “You mean I can really… do magic?”

“It seems so” I whispered. “That makes everyone but me.”

It were those words that made Nakajima crack up, chuckling as he looked up at me again. 

“What? Are you now pouting that I am the ‘Chosen one’ or whatever and you aren’t?”

“Shut up!” I laughed. “This is not Harry Potter, you freak!”

“Well, we _are_ talking about some dark lord trying to kill me, aren’t we?” he teased.

“Dark _Forces_ ” I groaned, poking his ribs. “And if you really were Harry Potter, I would not worry so much because you couldn’t just die. And you’d have Hermione around, who’d totally save your ass. You have just Shori.”

Nakajima burst into a laughing fit at that, and I shoved him, but his laughter was so catching that I ended up laughing with him. 

When we had finally calmed down, we were both lying on the bed again, catching our breaths. 

“So, you’re serious?” he asked finally, not looking at me. “Someone is out there to kill me?”

“I will not let them” I said firmly, searching for his hand again, entwining our fingers. 

“But I thought you don’t have any powers” Nakajima said quietly.

“I don’t care. I will find a way to protect you” I murmured, turning to look at Nakajima, and he met my gaze with a strangely intense look in his eyes.

Then, he broke out into a smile, stunning me with the warmth it caused to flood through me, and nodded.

"Okay" he said simply. "I trust you."

It made me smile back at him and somehow, his trust in me gave me confidence, too. Maybe, I figured, we would manage it, after all.

We would find a way, because as long as Nakajima and I had worked together, everything had always worked out, somehow.

Nakajima and I stayed up for far too long that night, talking softly and trying out his skills. It seemed that all it had needed was for Nakajima to realize the power he had for him to use it, because no matter what he tried, it seemed to come natural to him, almost as easy as breathing. 

Not only could he move things, but he could also influence the air around him, change temperatures or create breezes out of nowhere. He took his pleasure in tickling my skin or brushing my hair with it for a while, effectively keeping me from sleeping even though my eyes were continuously falling shut on their own account. It was only when I let out a whine more pathetic than Marius on his best days, he finally let me be, cutting the light with a wave of his hand.

I was not sure if he was using magic to keep himself warm or if he just radiated it naturally, but I moved a little bit closer to him anyways before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

When we entered the dressing room of the NHK hall next day before the Shounen Club filming, Shori, Sou and Marius were already sitting in a corner together, talking in hushed voices. When we came in, they all looked up, and Shori's eyes narrowed before he groaned: "Fuma-kun, when did we agree on telling him?!"

"Get out of my head, will you?!“ Nakajima groaned, looking at him unimpressed. “This is really rude.”

Shori ignored him, instead focusing his glare on me, and I let out an exasperated sigh.

“What was I supposed to do, this guy is persistent” I said defensively. “And at least now he knows what’s expecting him. Isn’t that better than running into danger blindly?!”

“True” Nakajima decided, and when Shori opened his mouth to speak again, a pillow hit him in the face. “Shut up” Nakajima said good-humoredly, putting down his back, making me grin when Shori spluttered and pouted. 

“This is so cool!” Marius said in awe.

“Watch out, he learns fast!” I advised, plopping down on a chair near Nakajima. “I bet before we know it he can do scarier things than Shige-Kun.”

“That’s good, it means he can defend himself” Sou nodded. “But is that going to be enough to safe him?”

“I thought that was your job?” Nakajima shrugged, leaning with his arms on the back of my chair.

“We’re trying!” Shori said indignantly. “But it’s not so easy! We still don’t know who will even attack you, and Fuma is pretty much useless!”

“Hey!” I called angrily. “Sou can’t do anything either!”

“I traveled through time!” Sou called loudly. “Without me, you wouldn’t even know that Kento-Kun was in danger!”

“Well, great, now we know, but we can’t do anything about it!” I scoffed. “Big help.”

Sou looked like he was going to throw a pillow through the room _physically_ this time when Nakajima spoke up, in that gentle, peaceful way of his that somehow ensured that quarrels within our band never got out of hand. 

“Calm down, all of you” he chuckled. “It’s going to be alright, somehow. I’m not so easy to kill.”

I looked up at him over my shoulder pointedly, and he grinned, shrugging again before continuing: “I will just stay away from everyone potentially dangerous. And nothing can stop Fuma from glomping me anyways.”

“That’s the point though” Marius made a face. “How do we know who is dangerous?”

“Well, I will run whenever I see Kawai today” he said thoughtfully. “I should stay away from Tackey, the whole of SMAP, Kanjani8’s Yokoyama – on second thought, all of Kanjani8, Arashi’s Ninomiya, and maybe Matsumoto, too-“

“This is all very well, but it might be someone we would never count on” Sou interrupted him. 

“We told Shori to keep his ears open” I pointed out. “Did you not find anything?!”

“I… have someone I am suspicious of” Shori said slowly. “But I am not sure yet. He did not fully articulated think about attacking Kento-kun, but… Something was fishy about him.”

“Who?” Nakajima blinked. 

“Nakamura Reia” Shori said carefully. 

I blinked, and to my surprise, Nakajima laughed behind me, making me look up.

“Reia-Kun?!” he demanded. “Come on, _look_ at the boy, he couldn’t hurt a fly!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure” Sou said slowly. “Reia is a devil in a sheep’s costume, he can be feisty if he wants to…”

“But he would not kill anyone” Nakajima scoffed. “Never.”

“Trust in your Kohai is good and well” I groaned. “But your life is at stake. I’d better be double careful. I suggest we watch Reia-Kun today.”

“Okay” Nakajima nodded. “But I’m still pretty sure it’s not him.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to check” Sou agreed, looking at Shori. “So, keep listening out for everyone close to Kento-Kun today, and pay special attention to Reia.”

“I got it” Shori groaned. “I will try my best.”

And Shori did, we could all tell, but obviously, a Shounen Club filming was not the best occasion to play spy. There were people and loud noises everywhere, and at some point, I found Shori in a corner of our dressing room, whining at me to go away because he had a headache from trying to listen to everyone at once. 

I left Nakajima to Sou at some point, deciding it was time to search out Reia-Kun.

When I at last found him, it was in the dressing room of Sexy Boyz, in a loud and angry discussion with Jinguji. I only heard bits and pieces, but the noises of the show were too loud to really catch anything (maybe that was how it felt to be in Shori’s head, I thought guiltily), and then Reia-Kun stormed out of the room, not even acknowledging my presence. 

When the day was done, we had not received any useful information, though I was by now convinced that Reia-Kun was the one after Nakajima.

“The Juniors are not even in the agency with us tomorrow” Nakajima reminded me with a role of his eyes when we were lying in his bed later that night (I had insisted on staying with him tonight as well), discussing the issue. “How is Reia-Kun supposed to kill me if he is not even there?!”

“But that’s perfect for him, isn’t it? He can find himself another alibi!” I pointed out. 

“But it’s _Reia_ -Kun!” Nakajima sighed incredulous. “Jinguji, okay, I would buy that. But _Reia-_ Kun…”

“Oh shut up, you” I groaned. “You would run into your murderers arms, you naïve idiot!”

“And you would suspect Marius if you wouldn’t know for sure that he is on our side” Nakajima chuckled. “You are paranoid!”

“I am not _paranoid_ ” I called angrily. “I am just worried about you, damnit!”

“Yes” Nakajima nodded. “But Fuma-“

“There is someone out there to kill you!” I continued, my throat closing up with emotions, making it hard to speak. “You already died in the future Sou came from, and fuck it, I am not going to let that happen! And I don’t care if I have to suspect everyone who crosses my way or if you call me paranoid or-“

“ _Fuma_ ” Nakajima said softly, taking my hand into his, making me hold in to take a shaky breath. “Fuma, shhh, it’s okay. I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not-“ I murmured, but then I belatedly noticed the wetness running down my cheeks, and the burning of my eyes. “Oh fuck it.”

Nakajima squeezed my hand before pulling me into his arms. My first instinct was to fight his embrace, but instead, I followed my intuitive need to just be close to him, fastening my arms around his waist and pressing my face into his neck so he couldn’t see the tears that followed. 

Nakajima stroked my back and held me close wordlessly for I don’t know how long, but his closeness seemed to make my silly emotional breakdown even worse and I could not stop crying. 

After a while, Nakajima pulled away a little to look at me, smoothing his palms over my cheek and catching my gaze. 

“I will not leave you alone” he said finally, his voice quiet and firm. “No one can remove me from your side. You’ve been stuck with me from the moment you joined the agency.”

“I’m scared, though” I whispered. “I’m scared that, no matter how hard we try, it will all be no good.”

“It’s not like you to be like this” Nakajima murmured, stroking my cheekbone softly. “You are always optimistic.”

“You always managed to bring out sides of me I have never been aware of” I said thoughtlessly, because it was the truth. Nakajima had always been special. 

“That’s nice to hear, but not when it’s making you cry” Nakajima murmured. 

I bit my lip, willing my tears to stop, but new ones kept welling up and my emotions were a mess. Nakajima watched my face, his expression pained, and I searched for any words, but all that I came up with was that I did not want to lose him again and again. 

It was then, that Nakajima leaned in to kiss a tear that was rolling down my cheek. I gasped, and my skin tingled where his lips met it. Nakajima lingered a little before starting to pull away, but I did not let him get far. 

My fingers threaded through his dark silky hair all on their own, and before I knew it, I had closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his. 

It should have been awkward, but instead, it felt natural, like it had been supposed to happen like this. Nakajima moved his lips against mine gently, without any haste, and it felt almost healing against the mess of emotions that had were still boiling inside of me. Maybe Nakajima was only using a bit of magic on me, though, I did not know, but no matter what, I was quite sure that these feelings for him were a different kind of magic that not even he could control. 

“I love you, Kento” I whispered as we pulled away for air. “I love you.”

Kento’s eyes fluttered open and those dark orbs focused on mine, making me drown in their intensity for a moment, before he smiled, whispering: “Finally you’re saying my name.”

I felt the blush creep up my neck, but Kento’s next words distracted me enough from my embarrassment. 

“I love you, too” he whispered, and before I could answer, he had caught my lips in another kiss. 

From the moment we came together like this, everything seemed to fall into place. Kento’s lips against mine felt so good and right, so much that I wanted to have him even closer, impossibly closer still, and to never let him go again.

Kento seemed to agree, because his hands kept wandering, first only over my cheeks and my neck, then through my hair and over my back. It made me feel shivery and I kept clinging to him even tighter, our kiss deepening gradually until I slipped my tongue into his mouth, searching for more intimacy.

Kento was the one who finally pressed me into the mattress, coming down with me, settling his body on top of mine. I moaned when I felt his whole weight rest on me. It felt strangely grounding in comparison to my emotions flying so high.

Kento never stopped kissing me, and I let out tiny noises against his lips, noises I would have been embarrassed about if I hadn't been so caught up in what he was doing to me.

My fingers were shaking when I slipped them under his shirt, searching his warm skin, and Kento shivered at the contact, clinging to the fabric of his pillow under my head. 

We were so close that I could feel his every move all through my body, but still I was trying to get closer, arching into his touch. 

It was when Kento's hips snapped against mine, probably more out of an instinct than actual planning, that I felt the hardness in his pants press against my thighs, and it made my whole body tingle in a new kind of desire.

"Kento, please" I whispered, not quite sure what I was asking for, but hoping he would be able to give it to me anyways. 

"I like it when you say my name like that" Kento murmured breathlessly. 

I thought fuzzily that I would keep saying it forever if he never stopped kissing me like that, and Kento seemed to read my thoughts, reconnecting our lips the same time one of Kento's hands slipped past the hem of my own shirt, tracing the skin of my belly.

His bare touches sent me into a fit of shivers, and it didn't take long until I pulled at his clothes, wanting all barrier shed.

There was some fumbling and Kento's had got stuck in his Shirt when I tried to pull it over his head, and he almost fell off the bed in a clumsy attempt to get both of us out of our jeans, but in the end, he pulled the blanket over both of us and leaned down to kiss me again, and it felt so good to just feel him like that, skin on skin, that I wondered why I had deprived myself of this for so long.

"I want you" I whispered finally, clinging onto his shoulders. 

"Like this?" Kento murmured breathlessly, softly rocking his hips against mine pointedly. 

"Any way" I whimpered, latching my lips to his neck, dragging them down his collarbone. "Please"

Kento murmured something incomprehensible before his fingers moved to tickle the inside of my thighs. 

I leaned my head back against the pillow and tried to relax as he smoothed his palms over my skin, opening my legs further for him to completely settle between them. Then he stretched to reach for his drawer next to the bed, making me crane my neck to see what he was doing, until he finally fished a small tube of body lotion out and looked at me unsurely.

“I don’t have anything else” Kento murmured in embarrassment. “I am kind of… inexperienced, when it comes to-“

“Me too” I whispered, trying to meet his eyes and not look away in shame like I would usually do. My fingers drew soft circles on the small of Kento’s back and we were silent for a moment, before I said softly: “Go on.”

Kento nodded, leaning in to kiss me again, and I tried hard not to pay attention to his fumbling. I still jerked a little when his slick fingers circled my entrance, though, and Kento froze, pulling away to look at me. 

“Shall I stop?” he asked, and I could see the panic in his eyes, so I quickly shook my head, holding onto him more tightly.

“Don’t stop” I murmured, and Kento nodded, watching my face as he carefully pushed one finger in. 

I tried hard to keep Kento’s gaze out of the sole reason that it seemed to reassure him, and he moved gently inside of me, so much that I could almost ignore the weird feeling of being filled like that.

“Does it hurt?” Kento whispered, circling his finger inside of me carefully, and I shook my head quickly, pulling him into another kiss when I felt like I could not lie still anymore. 

Kento slipped another fingers inside then, and his other hand came between our bodies and closed around my shaft, making me moan helplessly into the kiss. 

From then on, everything became heated and messy. Kento worked me open more and more, and it began to feel really good, his fingers sliding inside of me like that, just as his hand gentle stroking my erection. I reached out for his shaft as well, and Kento’s breath stuttered as I ran shaky fingers up and down the hard flesh.

It was then that Kento’s fingers brushed something inside of me, and suddenly, white hot pleasure flashed through my body, making me moan loudly. Kento froze, trying to pull away, but I clung to him, mumbling incomprehensible nonsense that included various syllables of his name, and Kento caught on, stroking that point more intently now. 

“Kento” I finally brought out, in a tone I did not know from myself. “I can’t – I’m gonna –“

Kento stilled his hand then, and I gasped for breath, trying to regain some kind of control. Kento carefully pulled his fingers out and let go of my erection, letting himself fall into my embrace for a few moment, until I whispered: “Okay, I’m ready.”

When Kento lined himself up at my entrance, we caught eyes again, and I saw the nerves in his expression, so I caught his face in my hands and brought him down for another kiss, keeping him close as he slowly pushed inside of me.

Kento felt even more intense than his fingers, and by the time he was in to the hilt, our kiss was more of a mingling of breath than anything else, but it was okay, and I tried to tell him so much with the way I kept my lips on his. 

Kento held in for a moment, though it was an obvious strain for him, and when I carefully rocked down against him, he started moving finally, starting in a slow pace, but picking up speed and rhythm quickly. 

Being close to Kento like this felt amazing – I felt every shift, every movement of his all through my body, and his heartbeat racing in his chest and all of it was just so overwhelming that I could not think straight anymore. 

It was when Kento started to hit that point inside of me again that it became decidedly too much. We had given up kissing for now in favor of air, and Kento was now and then dipping down to mouth my throat, and I held onto his desperately as I felt my conscience slowly slipping away from me with every thrust, the only grounding thing Kento’s weight above me. 

Kento searched for my hand then, entwining our fingers, and I jerked when his lips were at my ear, his hot breath hitting my ear lobe and making me shiver.

“I love you” Kento whispered. “Fuma, I love you.”

It were those words that brought me over the edge, his name on my lips. I could feel the pulsing of his orgasm inside of me almost as an afterthought, and when I was finally clear enough to open my eyes again, Kento’s head was resting on my chest, his hair clinging to his face as his breathing slowly turned back to normal.

I smiled, reaching down to brush his bangs out of his eyes, and Kento chuckled breathlessly. 

“I think I have another reason not to die now” he murmured without opening his eyes, and I tightened my arm around his shoulder.

“I hope so, idiot” I whispered, keeping my tone light. “I will never forgive you if you get yourself killed after such a night.”

Kento grinned, snuggling further into me, and I closed my eyes.

I woke up before Kento the next morning, but instead of waking him, I spent almost an hour just watching his sleeping face, marveling in his features and trying to engrave everything about him into my memory.

I could not help but think again and again that maybe, this would be the last time I could wake up next to him like this. 

When the alarm finally rang, Kento was disoriented and cuddly, and I used it shamelessly to my advantage, engaging him into slow and deep kisses and keeping us in bed for way longer than was okay, really. 

“How about we just don’t get up today…?” I suggested tentatively. “If we just stay here, nothing can happen to you.”

Kento only fully opened his eyes for the first time at those words, looking up at me.

“We can’t hide forever, Fuma” he reminded me. “Whatever is out there after me, it won’t just disappear like that. So, to be honest, I’d rather face it now for once and for all instead of living in fear forever.”

I wanted to protest, wanted to tell him that we could hide together, that I did not care about our careers or friends or anything, really, as long as he was with me, but I knew that Kento wouldn’t want to hear any of it, so I kept quiet. 

As the day crept on, both of us deciding to skip University after getting up way too late, instead taking it slow, having breakfast and getting ready for work, I became more and more restless. Kento could tell, of course – he kept telling me to stop worrying, that everything would be fine, but I just nodded in response, his words not even reaching me.

The fear for Kento was almost numbing, making it hard to think straight. 

It was almost reassuring to see that the other members were restless as well when we arrived at the studio. They kept shooting Kento worried looks, which he seemed to be slightly exasperated by, even if he did not give remarks. I knew that Kento liked attention, but he hated to make other people worry about him, which was why he sometimes was such a danger to himself. 

The first hour went by in this more or less tense atmosphere, and it was after I had gone to the toilet for a moment that everything started. 

I had left Kento with the rest of the band and the manager and crew, thinking that in such a crowd, nothing could happen to him, really. 

But when I returned, Kento was gone.

“ _Where is he?!”_ I demanded loudly from Shori, Sou and Marius who were crouched in a corner, talking quietly among themselves, and when they looked up at me, they seemed as shocked as me.

“What?! But – he was here a moment ago!” Marius called, pointing to the chair Kento had sat in when I had left the room. 

“He went to his car” Our manager spoke up, blinking at us in confusion. “He said he had forgotten his phone.”

“He went to his c _ar_?!” I repeated in a high pitched voice, and our manager looked alarmed at my obvious desperation. 

“He said he would be back any moment” he added. “Did you want something from him?”

I was just going to take to my heels and run, but my legs just wouldn’t move, and then, suddenly, everything was spinning and became black.

I blinked, and when I could focus my eyes again, I found myself in the parking lot. I was disoriented, until I heard Kento’s voice.

“… Genki-Kun?”

I spun around, and there, across the halls, I could see him – Kento, standing a few feet in front of his car, his way blocked by a very familiar Junior. 

I froze for a moment at Iwahashi Genki’s sight, because out of all the people I had suspected, I’d have never even thought of him. Genki almost worshipped Kento to a point where it competed with Kento’s own admiration for Yamada Ryosuke, and the thought about _him_ of all people wanting to hurt Kento would have never occurred to me.

Also, Genki looked nothing like a murderer should look like – he was crouched in on himself, pale, and his eyes were red, his voice shaky when he spoke up.

“I’m sorry” he said finally, raising his hand. “Please forgive me, Senpai.”

He raised his hand, which suddenly seemed to be shining by some strange light, and then I was running. 

Kento did not notice me until my arms closed around his waist, but I had no time to pull him out of reach before Genki’s magic approached us. So I just held onto him, closing my eyes.

At least, I would die with him, I thought fleetingly. 

But nothing happened. When I slowly opened my eyes again, I looked up in confusion, only to see some kind of semi-transparent shield that surrounded both Kento and me. 

Both of us stared at it in awe, as did Genki, only his look seemed more one of horror than surprise. 

“I think we found your skill” Kento said slowly, but before I could answer anything, Genki conjured another ball of light, flinging it at us. We watched unmoving as the ball splintered as soon as it hit the shield, breaking into many thousands facets of light before disappearing. 

“What is this?!” Genki demanded shakily, and I could hear the tremor in his voice. 

“Genki-Kun” Kento murmured. “Please stop! Why are you-“

“He will kill me!” Genki screamed, and I could see his eyes glistening with tears in his eyes. “If I don’t kill you, he will-“

“Who?” Kento demanded, wanting to take a step forward, but I held him close, not allowing him to go anywhere. “Whoever is threatening you, we can fight him together! You don’t need to do this! We both know you are no killer!”

“He is too strong for us!” Genki yelled. “There is no way we can win against him! And he is threatening… to kill Jin-Chan and Reia and…” A sob escaped his lips and he flung another ball at us, just as useless as the other two.

“We can protect them together!” Kento promised. “We will find a way, just please-“

“I’m sorry” Genki whispered, and then, he flicked his wrist. 

I looked around, not sure what he had done for a moment, but then, the ground beneath us started to rock. I was caught off guard, and next thing I knew, I had lost footing. 

The crash to the floor was hard and painful, my head hitting the cement, and I heard Kento call my name. 

I tried to get to my feet, to get back to Kento, even though I was not quite sure where he was because everything was spinning. I heard a loud noise, and there were different shades of lights, making me suspect that Kento had started fighting back, and suddenly, there was another voice, a third voice.

“GENKI! STOP!”

I blinked, and suddenly, everything was silent. 

I looked up, blinking, my eyes finally focusing on Kento a few feet away from me, on one knee, his hand raised in an attack that had turned motionless in his hand. Across from him was Genki, still upright and his eyes closed as he was flinging another ball of light at Kento. 

Only that he was not moving, frozen as if set in stone. 

It was then, that I realized the presence of three other boys: Just a few feet behind Genki, there was Reia, who had apparently called for him. Behind him was Haniuda Amu, staring at the scene before him like he did not quite know what was happening. And there was Jinguji Yuta, his hands raised, and his expression unbelieving. 

“Was that me?!” he blurted out incredulous, pointing at the frozen Genki, and Amu nodded, his eyes just as wide as Jinguji’s. Reia ignored them instead, looking from Kento to me. 

I had not noticed that Kento had moved until I felt his hand on my shoulder, his other brushing my hair out of my eyes. 

“Fuma” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I think so” I lied, but my head was pounding and I felt the need to throw up, but pointing that out would not help anyone.

“I’m sorry” Reia murmured, seeming frantic as he shook his head. “Please don’t blame Genki! He has been agonizing about this for weeks and would not talk to any of us, and we were so slow to figure out what was happening, and-“

“He was trying to fucking kill Kento!” I groaned, and Kento’s hand on my shoulder tightened. “How am I supposed to not blame him?!”

“He is being threatened!” Kento hissed. “What would you have done if someone had threatened to kill me?!” 

I had no ready answer for that, but even if, I would not have been able to voice it, because Jinguji stepped forward in that moment, bowing his head deeply before he started speaking.

“I’m sorry” he called. “We are supposed to be Genki’s protectors and we did not even notice what was going on. We did not know that he was threatened at all. It is our fault that Genki took things into his own hands. He just wanted to protect us.”

“Genki is no killer” Amu said firmly. “He could never hurt a fly, and he will not be able to live with it if he hurts you in any way.”

“He already does” Reia added. “I… I can sense things, you know. Sense feelings, or someone’s state of mind… And Genki… He has been in pure pain for _weeks_ , so much that it was hard for me to be in his presence. I knew something was wrong, but I did not know what! Not until Tegoshi-Kun…”

I nodded, though it hurt my head. I could imagine what had happened after Tegoshi had appeared. 

“We will find a way” Kento said finally, making me look up at him, but his eyes were directed to the frozen Genki. “Just… wake him up so we can talk to him.”

I grabbed Kento’s hand automatically at the thought of Genki being able to attack again, and the shield around us reappeared. Kento smiled down at me and helped me sit up a little before nodding to the other three.

Amu and Reia looked at Jinguji, and he blinked, as if not quite sure how to make the time run again, now that he had stopped it. He tried a half hearted wave of his hand.

It worked – Genki came to live again, flinging the ball of magic into the direction where Kento had been a moment before, blinking when his attack hit nothingness. 

I was not sure if it had to do with me hitting my head, at first, but suddenly, Amu was behind Genki, turning up out of nowhere and grabbing his wrists, holding his arms behind his back. Genki looked over his shoulder, mumbling Amu’s name in shock, and then, Jinguji and Reia had run over to his side. 

Reia put his arms around Genki, hugging him close, and Jinguji grabbed his shoulder, squeezing down.

“Genki, stop!” he said gently, shaking him slightly. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Jin-Chan… Reia…” Genki breathed, his voice shaking. “What are you doing here?! You should not be here! If he sees you-“

“I am sorry!” Reia murmured, and I could hear the tears in his voice as well. “I am sorry that we did not notice! But you don’t need to do this! You really don’t!”

“You don’t understand!” Genki called between sobs, shaking his head violently. “You need to leave, or-“

“We will find a way, Genki-Kun!” Kento spoke up, his voice gentle, and he wanted to stand up, but I had a firm grip on him. “Whoever it is that is threatening you, we will face him together. No one will be hurt.”

Genki met Kento’s eyes for the first time, and there was a moment of silence that was broken by three familiar voices calling our names.

“KENTO! FUMA!”

We turned our heads to see Shori, Marius and Sou running towards us, staring at the scene in front of them in something like horror.

“Jin-Chan, Reia, Genki, Amu… What…” he began, but he was interrupted by another voice, making us all freeze. 

“I should have known it was wrong to trust a Junior with something that important.”

All of us turned around to find Katori Shingo standing in a corner, arms crossed as he watched the scene in front of him with obvious distaste. Genki began to shake his head frantically and to fight against Amu’s grip, but Katori just rolled his eyes at him.

“Everything I have to do by myself” he groaned, raising his head. 

I held onto Kento tightly, and Genki was screaming something, and then, suddenly, everything was still.

I blinked, just to see Jinguji with his hands raised, eyes wide as he stared at an unmoving Katori. 

“This time stopping thing is some cool shit!” Amu said quietly, and Reia hit his head. 

“This is not the point now! What do we do?!” he called, looking at Kento for help. 

“Get Genki over here!” Kento demanded, waving towards me and him. “He needs to be protected.”

I needed a moment to understand his words, before I called loudly: “NO!”, looking at him incredulous.

“Fuma-“ Kento sighed, but I did not let him speak, instead shouting loudly: “NO WAY IN HELL AM I LETTING IWAHASHI EVER GET CLOSE TO YOU AGAIN! NO!”

“Fuma, we have to stick together now!” Kento argued, but I was still shaking my head, and it was Shori who finally made me cut down my protests. 

“He won’t hurt Kento-Kun!” Shori said firmly, catching my eyes. “I can tell, Fuma-Kun!”

I bit my lip, still not liking the idea of Genki anywhere near Kento, but finally, I turned to glare directly at Genki. His eyes were red and he looked like he helpless kid and it was hard to really be mad at him, but my fear for Kento was still fresh and strong, so I growled out, in the most menacing voice I could conjure: “If you harm Kento ever again, I swear to god it will be the last thing you do!”

Genki nodded slowly, and that was as long as Reia waited to shove his friend into our direction. Genki went only unwillingly, though, turning to Reia and Jinguji and asking quietly: “What about you?!”

“We will stay out of the way!” Jinguji promised. “He is after you guys, not after us!”

“But how are we going to fight him?!” Genki called as he was all but shoved behind my shield by Reia. “You don’t know how strong he is!”

“This is what you have us for” another voice spoke up, making us all turn around.

I felt like my pounding head could not deal with any more information, but as soon as I saw NEWS approaching us from a corner of the parking lot, I felt strangely at ease, for some reason.

“It needs three Magic Keepers to destroy a Keeper of the Dark Force” Tegoshi announced, pointing to Koyama. “Katori thought that himself, I heard him. And look, now we have three.”

“You could have told us this from the start!” Sou grumbled, and Tegoshi smiled sheepishly, making Shige roll his eyes.

“We don’t have time now!” he announced, shoving Koyama forward harshly. “Kei-Chan, get down there with Iwahashi, Nakajima and Kikuchi. The rest of you kids, get back here, and out of Katori’s way. And Massu, go turn into the cur you are!”

Masuda stuck out his tongue at Shige before, in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly gone, and in his place stood a huge Saint Bernard dog. Marius let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeal, and Tegoshi smirked, murmuring something like: “Told you he is the cutest.”

I almost missed how Koyama slipped into the shield with us, nudging Genki a little aside so all four of us could fit underneath, though it was a very tight fit. 

Tegoshi and Shige then collected Reia, Amu, Jinguji, Shori, Marius and Sou with them, and Masuda the dog cheerfully strutted over to Katori, sitting down in front of him, waiting.

“Okay” Tegoshi called. “Ready when you are!”

“What are we going to do?” Kento asked Koyama quietly, and Koyama shrugged, smiling sheepishly as he looked at him. 

“Do what you think is right” he said simply. “All of us use magic in a different way, but as long as we join our forces, it should be fine.”

He looked one more time at Genki, who nodded shakily, and I squeezed Kento’s hand tightly, earning a smile from him.

“We’re ready!” Koyama called finally, and Tegoshi gave him a thumbs up, turning to Jinguji expectantly.

“Now, if you may” he nodded. 

Jinguji blinked, before raising his hands unsurely, flicking his wrist.

It all happened very fast – as soon as Katori had started moving again, Masuda the dog had already jumped him, letting him fall backwards, apparently making him lose his orientation. 

“Now!” Shige called, and Koyama, Genki and Kento raised their hands.

There was a blinding flash of light, and I saw Masuda running towards Tegoshi, and then I had to close my eyes. 

When I opened them again, everything was silent. I blinked, almost not daring to look, but when I did, Katori was there, lying on the ground, eyes opened, unmoving.

That was the last thing I saw, before everything turned black. 

When I came to myself again, I was lying in a hospital bed. There were noises outside: I could hear my mother somewhere, and the loud call of my sister, and somewhere in between, I was sure I heard Marius. I groaned as I opened my eyes, fully intending to tell everyone close enough to shut up because my head still fucking hurt, only to find the room empty.

Or almost empty, I noted as I looked down my bed and found Kento, his upper body resting on the bed near my hips, his eyes closed. He was loosely grasping my wrist in his sleep. 

I had to smile at his sight, reaching out my free hand to run it through his hair. 

Kento stirred at that, blinking his eyes open, smiling as they focused on me.

“You are awake” he murmured.

“Was I dreaming?” I checked, and Kento chuckled, straightening up.

“If that’s what you want to believe, okay” he shrugged. ”But I think you know.”

I made a face, and Kento entwined his fingers with mine. 

“There was an accident” Kento said quietly. “Katori wanted to save you, but he was hit, and his injuries were deadly. You merely suffered a concussion. That’s the official story.”

I nodded, not having the strength to question it now, and Kento smiled, bending down to kiss my forehead.

“Marius and Reia think you have the coolest power of all of them” he informed me with a smile. “Being able to protect the one you love. That’s really romantic.”

“Shut up” I groaned, but I had to smile at his words, and Kento squeezed my hand.

“The rest thinks Jinguji’s is the best” he shrugged. “He keeps freezing the time, stupid brat. It drives Reia insane. Shige threatened to make him forget he ever had that power if he doesn’t stop.”

“Sounds good to me” I smiled, stretching myself. 

“You gave me quite a scare there” Kento said quietly. “Everyone was worrying about me, and then, suddenly, you weren’t moving anymore, and…”

“Serves you right, for just running off like that” I groaned. “How did you think I was feeling when-“

I did not come farther than this, though, because Kento’s lips on mine silenced me. I smiled into the kiss, bringing a hand up to run it through his soft hair.

When Kento pulled away again, he met my eyes with a strangely intense gaze.

“We were all the time talking about how I can’t leave you, but just for the record, you can’t leave me, either” he pointed out. “You are my shield.”

I smiled, and instead of answering, just pulled him into another kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> I am excited about this, so please give me some feedback, it would make my day! :D  
> Oh, and Merry Christmas to all my readers! Thank you guys for constantly making my life a little brighter! I love you!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Breathe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157908) by [Lady_Michiru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Michiru/pseuds/Lady_Michiru)




End file.
